


The way to recovery

by Julia_Danse



Series: The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots [37]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Anger, Crying, Emotions, F/M, Fatherly hug, Fear, Life threat, Prydwen, remember the dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:01:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julia_Danse/pseuds/Julia_Danse
Summary: Danse and Rhys talk about Kathryn.
Relationships: Knight Rhys/Female Sole Survivor, Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor
Series: The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1381480
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well insomnia must be good for something eh...  
> If it's not for writing, then for what else?
> 
> Sorry if this story seems ridiculous. I wanted to show that Danse also has his mental problems and that they slowly show.  
> He NEEDS Kathryn to control himself...

Danse didn’t know what to think about that.  
“Cade!”, he called for the medic.  
“Yes, Paladin?”, the grey eyed man answered.  
“D-did you hear this?”  
“Not all. What exactly did she say?”  
  
Danse felt a little uncomfortable telling the Knight-Captain about Kathryn’s reaction.  
  
“Well, she had an orgasm...”, he then finally said.  
“What did she say?” Danse blushed at this question, not knowing if he should answer or not.  
“M-my name.” His blush bloomed into a full tato red head.  
“We don’t know what she’s experiencing right now, but she’s healing. Maybe you can ask her if she wakes up.“  
  
 _Yeah... IF she wakes up... Thanks Cade, for setting my expectations so high...  
  
_ “You should go and get some rest, Paladin. She’s in safe hands and she will need you at one hundred percent soon.”  
“Affirmative.”  
  
Danse nodded and left the med bay under the watchful eyes of Knight-Captain Cade. He went to the mess which gladly wasn’t too far away. He needed something in his stomach or he would try to eat the walls of the Prydwen. After his meal he went back to the med bay and almost didn’t believe his eyes...  
  
___  
  
He sat down at the still warm chair. It wasn’t even a minute since the paladin had left the med bay before he showed up. Rhys took Kathryn’s hand in his. He looked at her pale face, no make up on, like she would do every day. The freckles in her face were prominent now and she had dark shadows under her eyes. “I’m so sorry that this happened. I didn’t mean to cause all this...”, he began to whisper. “Please wake up again, we need you.” He felt guilty, suffering from what he had done to her. He just wanted to tease her, and _not_ cause her almost-death. She looked so much like she would die every moment, _like a skeleton covered with skin_ , and he couldn’t contain the tears that welled in his eyes. One dropped down at her hand before he leaned down and squeezed it to his forehead, begging her to wake up and call him what ever she preferred, lecture him, speak out what ever punishment she thought might be enough for him. He would gladly take it, if only she woke up again.  
  
He insisted that he was also there to fly her to the Prydwen some days ago. Haylen could only do as much but Cade always had his eyes on his patients. He manned the minigun while Danse held Kathryn in a steel grip. Gentle but safe enough not to fly out of the vertibird if something happened. But Rhys made sure the flight went without any trouble and shot everything that dared to glare his way. He even insisted to carry her to the med bay, it was the least he could do. He was determined and Danse couldn’t say no to the knight. No matter how much of an ass Rhys could be, that mission changed him from the core...  
  
___  
  
Bright light blinded her and she felt that her hand was pressed against skin. She heard silent sobs and before she was able to say something I giant shadow covered the light. Danse stood behind Rhys who talked to Kathryn in hushed voices. The Paladin laid a hand on the knight’s shoulder and he looked up. “I’m so so sorry.”, said the knight to his superior. Danse only took Rhys into his arms, like a father would do with his son. Rhys didn’t know what to do but cry into his C.O.s chest. He felt so damn lost.  
  
“Rh-Rhys...”, a faint voice whispered. Both Danse and Rhys looked down into the bed. Kathryn looked at the knight, her hand trying to grab his again and he knelt down.  
“Paladin Kay!”, exclaimed the knight. He held her hand again and came as close as he dared and she whispered again.  
“You fucking asshole.”, she smiled weakly and tried to squeeze his hand.  
  
He burst into laughter at her words, more tears spilling down his cheeks.  
  
“Danse.”, she then said, facing the paladin.  
“Yes?”, he answered.  
“I love you.” Her eyes closed again and her hand went limb. She was sleeping again.  
“I love you too”, Danse whispered.  
  
“I guess you two should go and rest now as well. Paladin Kay won’t run away, you know.”, said Cade from behind his desk. He was silently tapping away at his terminal but heard every word spoken. Both men nodded and left the med bay in silence.  
  
“I need a drink.”, said Danse before Rhys could walk away.  
“Ugh, me too.”, he then said.  
“Wanna join me then?”  
“Uhm, sure...”  
  
Rhys wondered why his superior was inviting him to a drink, but he followed Danse to his quarters and sat down. Danse opened a bottle of Bourbon before he poured him and Rhys two generous glasses. Rhys sighed and took a sip of his glass. “I never wanted it to come this way... I just wanted to tease her, you know? Like I always did. Everyone thought that I hated her. Maybe I did, Sir. But this mission changed my point of view. I’ve never seen a stronger person, a one-woman-army. Paladin, it looked like she was _dancing_ when she killed those fanatics! I couldn’t do more than I did when I carried her to Haylen. And every day she’s not awake I feel terrible. I never intended this. I know how much she means to you, Sir, really I do.” He took another sip before he continued speaking. “It made me smile when she said that she was happy for Haylen and me. I even wanted her approval and got it without doing a thing for it. I really appreciate that she gave us her blessings, even if she doesn’t know that she already did.” He looked away, shame and guilt eating away at his conscience.  
  
“Let me tell you something.”, said Danse as he too sat down in front of his knight, sipping at his own Bourbon. “Besides the Brotherhood Kathryn is all I have in my life. Even if she tells me that I am the one that showed her happiness it’s her that showed it to me. Yes, she’s a psychopath, yes she had tortured a raider back in Nuka World, but she also killed two hundred raiders just by shooting a mini nuke at them. She’s a force to be reckoned with! She brought Brandis back and saved my life in the time span of _hours_! If it wasn’t for her I would be dead. Rhys I _was_ dead! But she made me strong enough tgo come back, to not leave her alone. By steel I don’t want to know what she would do if I ever left her...” He rubbed his hand over his face and went on. “She solved the case of the missing supplies here _and convinced Initiate Clarke to turn himself in_! She already did so much for the Brotherhood, for me. With all that she already accomplished in such a short amount of time... And it was just fair that she got that promotion. And if she goes, I _will_ follow her, no matter where her way will lead her. I love her too much than let her wander alone.” He let his words sink in, a small break and again he spoke. _“_ And you know what I would do to the person taking her away from me?”, Danse looked at Rhys menacingly. The knight swallowed and shook his head.  
“I’m gonna slowly kill that bastard. Let him feel all the pain I am feeling due to her loss. She’s my life, my whole world and if she won’t wake up, make sure you’re as far away from me as possible!”  
Rhys swallowed. This absolutely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He wished for reassuring words, and not a thread to his life. He stood up just to fall down to one knee, his right hand over his heart and he looked at Danse. He swore to him that no matter what would happen, he would accept the consequences. But he also pleaded to the paladin to think about Haylen. Danse considered this.  
“It’s her choice in the end.”, he said, meaning Kathryn with his statement. Their conversation was over and Rhys downed the rest of his Bourbon before he left. He already was at the door and turned around again, saluting his commanding officer. “Ad Victoriam, Paladin!”, Rhys said before he closed the door and left.  
  
“Ad Victoriam.”, said Danse before he downed his own glass and moved to his bed. Suddenly he felt exhausted. He laid down, his limbs felt like they were covered with a blanket made of lead and he fell asleep.  
  
___  
  
Rhys hurried back to the med bay. He needed to talk with Cade immediately. He told the medic about the conversation between him and Danse and Cade’s eyes widened.  
“You should have known that, Knight. Did you forget how much people he already lost? Think about Brach, Worwick, Keane, Dawes. About Krieg. About Cutler...” Cade sighed and shook his head. “No wonder he said that. Well, I’m gonna have to talk to him about it.” Rhys inhaled sharply as he looked at the medic. He really didn’t think much lately. Maybe it was better that he left the Brotherhood for good. But what would Haylen say? He looked at Kathryn. She wouldn’t want him to leave. And she also would tell Danse to shove his threat way down where the sun didn’t shine.  
  
When he looked closely at the bed he swore under his breath. Kathryn looked at him, eyes wide and a hand at her mouth.  
  
“What the fuck?”


	2. Apologizing ain't easy I guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain teal colored paladin wakes up again.  
> What will happen to the men?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Why ever my edits are always so screwed up... :-(  
> Eff it.  
> I hope you enjoy it anyway.

_Shit! Big fucking giant shit!_  
That definitely _wasn’t_ what she should’ve heard after waking up.  
 _Danse wants to kill Rhys?!_  
  
She looked at the knight, terrified by his words, but also angry. Her hands began to shake, she threw the blanket off of her feet and swung them down onto the cold metal floor. She didn’t care that she wasn’t wearing anything but her underwear when she tried to stand. Her chest heaved, her face contorted into one of pure rage and slowly she began to stalk out of the infirmary. “Paladin-”, tried Cade, but one glare from her let him freeze into a stone sculpture _if_ she would’ve been Medusa. He swallowed and didn’t dare to even blink his eyes while he watched her walk past Rhys and out i nto the hallway. Rhys also didn’t know if he should move and walk after her, just in case something might happen and looked at Cade for confirmation. Silent understanding was it, a nod and Rhys cautiously sneaked after the half- naked paladin. With every step she took she grew stronger, the ground was shaking like she wore power armor and everyone witnessing her steaming rage was hurrying away. It was better _not_ to cross her path now, everyone knew that. Rhys trailed behind her like a beaten up dog and tried to get as less attention as possible. He really didn’t want to get another threat to his life, one really was enough.  
  
___  
  
Danse was sitting at his desk, not knowing why the hairs on his arms were standing and he wondered if he could feel rad-storms now. Well that was truly impossible he thought to himself as he scratched the scruff on his chin. He stood up and wanted to go look after Kathryn when the door was slammed into his face. A certain hair color was shoved into his face and it took him a moment to realize he was lying on the floor. “What the-” A fist connected to his jaw, out of the green and blue hues of her hair. “Kath-” Another one, this time at his eye. He got angry. _Why the hell did she attack him?_ He catched the next fist in his while looking into her clouded eyes. She wasn’t herself he realized. _Why was she so angry?_ “Are you fucking insane?”, she snarled. “What? Why?”, he pressed out before her other fist rose and flew down onto his chest. He gasped at the impact. “Why would you do this?”, she pressed on.  
  
He had enough now. Kathryn might be strong, but he knew how to handle her. He quickly grabbed her other fist and threw her with a swing of his feet off of him and took the momentum to get to his feet. Now that he was standing he rose to all the might he could muster and towered over her.“ _What the FUCK is your problem?!_ ”, he demanded in a loud voice. Suddenly Kathryn’s eyes cleared and she looked at him quizzically. “My problem?”, she then asked. One of her eyebrows shot up and it was like a light bulb went on in her brain. “Ohh, this you mean. Well, why the _fuck_ did you threat Rhys’ life?!” Rhys winced in the background and both Kathryn and Danse turned to him. He looked at them like he did something worse than almost killing one of the persons he cared about.  
  
Danse deflated immediately, his shoulders sagged down and he felt very guilty. His expression almost was hilarious, looking like a dog that sniffed on a very pungent sock and pulled a disgusted face. He sat down onto his bed and ran his hands through his hair and over his face. “How do you know?”, he asked in a quiet voice. All the anger washed away by the sudden question of his lover. “Rhys, come in please.”, said Kathryn. No one else should hear about this but the three of them. After everyone was sitting – Rhys on the chair, Danse kept sitting on the bed and Kathryn took the floor – Rhys started to explain again what happened. Both Danse and Kathryn scowled at him, but they also noticed how uncomfortable he was. He was fidgeting a lot with his fingers, scratched his head and chin and it took him like for ever to find the right words. Kathryn felt something like sympathy for the knight when she saw the glistening of unshed tears in his eyes. He really regretted dragging her out there and he urged again that no matter what punishment she saw fit, he would accept it without a questioning it.  
  
Kathryn smiled which surprised and confused him quite a lot. “If it takes me to almost die to get that stick out of your ass to accept me as your CO, well I think you already suffered enough.” _Wait what? What did she just say?_ He scowled, needed time to process her words in his mind. Did she just forgive him? He asked her, the smile still visible on her face. She nodded and told him “I can see that you’re suffering, that you mean every word you say. I know you bleed Brotherhood if I’d stab you. And what good would it do to Haylen if I’d punish you? I like seeing her happy, and since it’s you who does that to her I won’t nor can’t punish you.” Before Danse or Kathryn could react he was on his feet, slamming the half- naked Kathryn onto the floor with the biggest hug he could give her, letting his tears fall freely and thank her a thousand times that she wasn’t mad with him.  
  
“You know, Rhys”, she then said after catching her breath and continued “I heard how often you said ‘I’m sorry.’ and that I have to wake up. Well I wasn’t sleeping all the time... I just wanted to listen what people said while I pretended to be asleep. And I heard good stuff, also bad stuff. But you, Rhys, where the most honest of them. And I’d be glad to be your commanding officer. BUT! Under once condition.” He looked at her, eager to know what she wanted from him. Yes?”, he simply told her to move on. “You _never ever_ will do that again. If so, be sure I let you clean the latrines for _forever_!”, she said laughing now. His eyes still were wet but he mirrored her smile non the less and pulled her into a hug again. “You’re the best paladin to serve under, you know that?”, Rhys then said to Kathryn just to earn a grumpy huff of air from Danse. “No offense, Sir.”, he quickly added.  
  
When Rhys finally let go of Kathryn she stood up and brushed herself off, stalking over to Danse. “But you!”, she said pointing a finger at the paladin “Did you take leave of your senses or what?” She was glaring at him intensely. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and muttered “Says the woman walking around half-naked? Aha...” Rhys chuckled and needed to duck when Danse threw his pillow at him. Kathryn also crossed her arms in front of her chest, tapping one foot at the floor impatiently. “I better go now...”, said Rhys and was already standing up and on his way to the door. “No.”, interjected Kathryn. “You need to hear this.” He was curious now. “Danse, don’t you think that you owe Knight Rhys an apology?” Both men looked at her, jaws dropped and eyes wide. But only Danse blushed a deep red as he scratched at his neck and cleared his throat. “Uh, well, yeah...”  
  
“So?” Kathryn pushed on and Danse stood up to give Rhys his hand and the knight took it, and Danse said “I’m sorry that I threatened your life. I won’t do it again.” He was tato red in the face. Rhys couldn’t believe that Kathryn made Danse _apologize_ for defending her. He still stared in disbelief but shook the paladin’s hand firmly. “Uuuh apology accepted, Sir.”, he then spoke, not really knowing if he can go now or not. He looked back at Kathryn who was smiling widely now. “See? That didn’t hurt, did it?” _Since when is the Brotherhood a bunch of kindergarten children?!_  
  
“I can I go now? I really don’t want to be in a room with a half-naked paladin and her partner...”  
“Of course. And thank you.” Before Rhys went out of the door Kathryn gave him a kiss to the cheek. “Oh and please give Haylen a big hug from me, will you?”, she then said smiling. Rhys nodded and walked away.“ And you!”, Kathryn exclaimed “Come here now I really need a hug from you...” She sighed when Danse turned around and embraced her carefully. “Are you hurting?”, he asked her, reminding himself from what horror she just had woken up from. “ No, not really...” She moved her arms and legs to show that she indeed was in no pain. “Now come here and kiss me already!” Danse laughed and happily obeyed as he gently placed his lips on hers. He had his girl back, his partner, his lover. A huge boulder made from ice fell from his heart, the tight feeling in his chest finally was gone and he felt like he would really breath for the first time in his entire life.  
  
___  
  
Elder Maxson granted him the flight back to the Police Station. He was giddy to finally see Haylen again after days of the unknown about Kathryn’s condition. Now he could get to her and tell her the good news. But he didn’t know if he should tell Haylen about Danse’s weird behavior lately. He guessed that that paladin showed a glimpse of what’s going on inside him, that it was deeper than the threat he threw at his life. No, Rhys witnessed a part of Danse’s deep love for Kathryn, that he would do anything for her if something bad happened. And well, he did and showed Rhys that it was no walk in the park when the life of someone beloved was on the line of death and life. And to his luck Paladin Kay was a fighter, always strong and _she just forgave him and his damn stupidity_ and walked away with nothing more than a verbal black eye. He swore to himself that he would never tease her like that again. Only if she started to tease him first he would answer, until then he’d keep his loose mouth shut.  
  
Haylen smiled brightly when she saw Rhys. He was still in one piece and looked very relieved. Haylen threw herself at him with her arms wide open. “Tell me, how she’s doing?”, demanded the scribe. Rhys smiled sweetly at her as he returned the hug. “She’s doing just fine.”, he explained. “You should have seen her. Or well, you should see Danse now.” He chuckled. “Why?, asked Haylen. “Oh well, I don’t know if I should tell you.” She hit him on the shoulder and said “Oh you tease, tell me already!” and kept smiling at him. “Okay, okay. Well... Danse said some not so nice things and Kathryn got wind of it. He’ll sport a black eye and jaw soon.” Haylen’s jaw dropped.  
  
“NO WAY?!”  
“Oh yes.”  
“What happened?”  
“Well, she defended my life after I almost was responsible for her death...”  
“But how, what did Danse say?”  
“That he’d kill me if she would die. Guess I’m gonna live longer now.”  
“That’s no joking matter, Rhys...”  
“I tell you the truth. Kathryn went nuts on him and made him apologize like a child.”  
“Wow, really.”  
“Yeah when I tell you. I couldn’t believe it myself. She even _forgave me_ even tho I was so stupid.”  
“Punishment?”  
“None. She said she couldn’t do this to you. But she also told me that if I’d ever pull such a stunt again I have to clean the latrines for forever.”  
  
Haylen laughed.  
  
“Well that’s a punishment everyone would love after witnessing her wrath.”  
“ Oh come here you little tease.”  
  
Rhys pulled Haylen tighter to his chest and gave her the sweetest kiss he could muster. Kathryn lived, and was he.  
  
He was still alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading.


End file.
